Tom Freund ‘The Year I Spent in Space’ Album Preview

Courtesy of Planetary Group

[Friday, September 23, 2022] Today, the Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Tom Freund releases his latest album, The Year I Spent In Space. To mark the occasion, Freund shares “Harmony Of Two,” a new track taken from The Year I Spent In Space that features singer-songwriter Brett Dennen.

LISTEN TO “HARMONY OF TWO” HERE

“I sang on ‘Harmony of Two’ because it’s a great song with a great message,” says Brett Dennen. “Tom Freund has been pouring out unique and thoughtful songs with sophisticated music and deep lyrics for decades. I love his music and him even more as a person.”

“The song came to me in the year I spent in space, during the ‘pandemania’ as I call it,” explains Tom Freund. “I was house-sitting my friend’s place in Lake Arrowhead. I started making this guitar riff and then singing along to it, and I couldn’t stop. Future lovers came to mind. It’s also a ‘note to self’ song, as in hang in there Tom, we’ll get to that place where you’ll find your peace of mind.”

“Harmony Of Two” is a love song about togetherness and the beauty of the sound of two people, two voices, and two lives coming together. (“There’s no need to go solo”)” continues Freund. “With a song of this nature and title I knew I needed a second voice, so I thought to myself – who has one of my favorite voices of all time? So I called Brett Dennen up in Ventura and asked him what he thought. He came down to 4th st recording in Santa Monica and was on fire, his voice instantly gelled with mine in a way that I knew was right and also brought something otherworldly to my ears. He created that sound with me.” 

“Brett and I have toured together all over the world and he has been on several albums of mine and me on one of his. He sang several songs on my kids’ album ‘Hug Trees,’ and we did one of his called ‘Party In The Yard.’ Then, Brett sang and co-wrote the song ‘Weekend guy’ and ‘Summer Of 92’ on my EP ‘Fit TO Screen’ and also appears on my live album ‘The Stronghold Tapes.’”

“Harmony Of Two” features Tom Freund on all electric guitar and vocal tracks, Jon Button (The Who, Sheryl Crow) on bass, Michael Jerome (Better Than Ezra, Richard Thompson) on drums, and Chris Joyner (Jason Mraz, Natalie Merchant) on keys.

“‘The Year I Spent In Space’ is an album of hope,” Freund concludes. “And when it’s over, I will rejoice with a hug to everyone I love. And we’ll go dancing on the streets until the sun comes up…”

LISTEN TO THE YEAR I SPENT IN SPACE BY TOM FREUND HERE

“‘The Year I Spent In Space’ speaks to what we all went through during the pandemic,” explains Tom Freund. “Existing in your living room, alone for months and months on end. It had the appearance and feeling of being in space. Especially with the screens zapping on and off and the zoom technology, and seeing people I loved…and didn’t love… from far away stations.”

“The screens were on but I was alone…”

– from “The Year I Spent In Space” by Tom Freund

“The world felt strange and locked up and I was stuck in a bubble,” Freund continues. “Relating to people on a screen through the internet. I had friends and bandmates, but I was alone in that bubble for a lot of time… It also felt a bit like a cruel joke was being played on me because I wasn’t with a partner when it all started. And then I thought of the young ones and how this must have felt for them. These kids have been interrupted in their lives for a little over 2 years to be exact. You don’t get that back. They couldn’t even see facial expressions because of the masks.”

“Say a prayer for the little ones for they don’t know what they have coming.” – from “The Year I Spent In Space” by Tom Freund

“And so I made music, always the great constant in my life, and it is also an album of hope,” Freund continues, “And when it’s over, I will rejoice with a hug to everyone I love. And we’ll go dancing on the streets until the sun comes up…”

“The Year I Spent In Space” was co-produced by Sejo Navajas (Vintage Trouble, Weezer) and Tom Freund. The track also features Oliver Kraus on strings (Sia, Dave Mathews, Adele), Wally Ingram on drums (Sheryl Crow), and Chris Joyner on keyboards (Jason Mraz, Natalie Merchant). Tom sings all the vocals, and plays piano, bass, and all guitar parts.

Previously released tracks from The Year I Spent In Space include the Graham Parker cover “Disney’s America,” which premiered via Glide Magazine; a new version of Freund’s “Fallen Angel,” originally released on Freund’s 1994 album The Silos; “Rebound,” which premiered on Americana Highways; “Things I Said,” “Show On The Road,” and “Happy Uke” which premiered in Ukulele Magazine.

“To me, ‘Disney’s America’ asks, ‘Where did America go wrong?,’” explains Tom Freund. ”It’s a song for a lost Virginia and nation, one consumed with money, brands and division”: ‘Where we drifted apart like runoff into the Chesapeake Bay.’ Singing about it might bring hope and awareness for a better, more connected and conscious America.”

“Rebound“is a post-Valentines day ‘love’ song with a heavy twist,” continues Freund. “We all know rebound’s antics! But there’s always hope that you can make it, too, if you rise above the rebound itself, and it becomes a true love not just a need to fulfill a past one. “I don’t wanna be one of, your long list of fun, as you start on your rebound…”

“Recorded during the pandemic, as is 2/3 of the album. It was very freeing to play music and meet with others safely and to send stuff to each other through the internet. It was very soul lifting. But also intense. Listening to the mixes or playing alone, while empty streets and masked up humans wondered indeed what was to become of all of this. When would we be in the clear?”

More on Tom Freund:

Over the course of his career, singer/songwriter and Americana artist Tom Freund has released over a dozen records, collaborated with legends such as Elvis Costello and Jackson Browne, pulled a half-decade stint on bass for alt-country pioneers The Silos, and has shared bills with everyone from Matthew Sweet to Guided by Voices. Freund’s latest album, The Year I Spent In Space recounts the time lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tom Freund has spent much of his time traversing genres, melding whatever sounds have happened to catch his whimsy with his unmistakable, earthbound songwriting. Back in high school, Freund played bass in the jazz ensemble and performed in theatre productions such as Swing (Elizabeth Swados). A few years later, he enjoyed a brief stint in the off-Broadway scene and took classes at Columbia University in New York, later transferring to Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., but when music came knocking again, Freund answered.

His very first album was 1992’s Pleasure and Pain, a duo set with Ben Harper. “I’ve known Tom longer now than I haven’t known him, and that’s long,” states Harper. “To have a friend to walk through the world with is rare and something I hold most dear. Something I cherish more each passing day. Hey Tom, let’s do another 30.”

For the next five years after Pleasure and Pain, Tom toured and recorded with The Silos before releasing North American Long Weekend, his 1998 solo debut on Red Ant/ Mercury Records. Moving ahead into the new millennium, Freund churned out several additional records while also assisting with projects from Mandy Moore, Rachael Yamagata, Graham Parker, and other notable artists. From a handful of EPs to his 2007 kids record Hug Trees and 2011’s The Edge of Venice to his appearance playing alongside Graham Parker in the 2012 Judd Apatow comedy This is 40, Freund’s career has been a dynamic affair, and that includes plenty of work in film and television.

Tom Freund’s songs have been featured on series such as Better Things, Parenthood, One Tree Hill, Dawson’s Creek, and the Amazon show Pete The Cat, on which Freund co-wrote, sung, and played songs with Elvis Costello, KT Tunstall, Dave Matthews, Jason Mraz, and Diana Krall. Freund also co-wrote the show’s theme song with creator Swampy Marsh (Phineas and Ferb). Costello takes lead vocals on each episode’s opening theme with Freund handling backing vocals and most of the instruments. Freund also co-wrote and sang the show’s end-credits song, “Go Pete Go,” and even voiced a character, Papi, in the last season.